Dragon Tribulation of All Realms

Chapter 186 Signs of the Storm

The driving force is bursting forth.

When the amulet finally landed in Wu Chen's hands, one item on his to-do list was thus fulfilled.

Inspiration surged forth, instantly pushing the progress of 'Wrecking Ball' slightly beyond its limits. This was because it was indeed a genuine magical artifact, and it had now fallen into Wu Chen's hands.

Callisto was no longer worth paying attention to; let it continue to wail and struggle in the ruins, as it would serve another purpose later. Wu Chen, carrying the necromancer's amulet, then bid farewell to Belfago and, with Leme in tow, boarded his carriage again.

He examined the amulet closely.

Even while still in a dream, he could clearly sense the immense, yet restrained, power gathering deep within the amulet—in the original story, the amulet could only be activated after a large number of lives were sacrificed and a massive ritual was completed. And as the 'Butcher,' Callisto was destined to play a crucial role in this sacrifice.

It is a fitting sacrifice. In the original storyline, if the Dragonborn were to misjudge and wrongly accuse Wunfis, thus allowing Callisto to escape, news of several more murders in Windhelm would soon follow, providing an opportunity to exonerate Wunfis. However, regardless of this process of accusation and exoneration, when the amulet falls into the Dragonborn's hands a second time, it will be reactivated from its inactive state.

Clearly, those killed in the unnecessary process were not effective in activating the amulet. On the contrary, Callisto, destined to be slain by the Dragonborn, was far more effective as a sacrifice.

But it's not absolutely necessary.

As Wu Chen grasped the amulet, he sensed an invisible connection between himself and it—he was certain that no foreign magic had appeared within him, nor had he made any contract with any unknown entity. Furthermore, the connection between him and the amulet didn't seem to exist on the observable level of reality.

—It is fate.

Hera's words echoed in Wu Chen's ears—according to Hera, many powerful and precious treasures are destined for specific fates. Those not destined to possess them, even if they wish to seize them by force, will pay a heavy price, expending enormous resources and time. Therefore, many treasures, even those not hidden in secret locations, are not easily seized by well-informed high-level wizards or even archmages like Hera. And this might be a plausible theory to explain some unusual occurrences.

In the original storyline, Wynfis, a court wizard, had no intention of coveting this dark treasure after learning of its whereabouts—perhaps due to the overwhelming power of the Dragonborn, but this novel theory makes perfect sense.

So……

Even if I throw it out of here now, will it come back to me for one reason or another?
think.

A tiny bit of information was transmitted to Wu Chen through the touch of their fingers.

The amulet does indeed possess immense and immortal power, and it certainly has its own requirements. The price it demands is a sacrifice with sufficiently vigorous life force, at least at a high level. Or perhaps another extraordinary individual with a profound connection to this amulet. As long as their soul is infused into the amulet as material, then this amulet will be able to ignite.

The effects include a massive increase in magical power and mana regeneration speed, as well as a significant boost to Destruction and Summoning spells. The amulet also contains a vast amount of necromancy magic, and its only side effect is that when used by non-undead creatures, their life force will be weakened to some extent.

The effect is quite different from that of the fifth generation.

It's more like a slightly tweaked version of The Elder Scrolls IV. However, in The Elder Scrolls IV, the Necromancer's Amulet didn't require a ritual to activate—this is probably because the initial holder in The Elder Scrolls V was Callisto, a self-taught enthusiast of dark arts, while the initial holder in The Elder Scrolls IV was a high-ranking wizard from the Imperial University of Magic. The former could only follow the proper procedures, while the latter was able to find a shortcut on his own.

Not bad.

The amulet hadn't been activated yet, but some of its power had already flowed into Wu Chen's body—he could now rely on this amulet to directly advance a small rank in the high-level vampire realm, changing from regular to senior. Although not yet elite, it could still play a certain role.

So……

"Hey! You monster." Across the carriage, Leimei, who had witnessed a one-sided beating, seemed unfazed; in fact, her courage seemed to have grown considerably. She held her head high, displaying her dignity and courage as much as possible. "You've been causing all that trouble just to steal that amulet, haven't you? What, aren't all you monsters supposed to be in cahoots?" Wu Chen's lips curled into a slight smile.

He saw Lemère's face melt like a candle, and saw ears sprouting from that delicate face. Layer upon layer, densely packed, hundreds of human or elven ears stacked together, some complete, some incomplete, some deformed and twisted, seemed to breathe as they opened and closed, with deep red blood and scorching heat flowing out together.

Ears, ears everywhere.

Ears grew from the car windows, from the carpet, and from the armrests of the seats. And from many of the ear canals sprouted tender buds, supporting the constantly turning eyeballs—this is how Ramaya's power gathers, and without a doubt, these are the ears and eyes that direct its attention.

Although it was Leme who spoke, it was Ramaya who wanted the answer—this was a dream she had almost mastered, and it could almost be said to belong to her. In her dream, a magical artifact that suddenly appeared would naturally attract her attention.

“This is a treasure.” Wu Chen’s gaze shifted from examining the amulet, looking at the strange head composed of hundreds of earlobes as if he were still sizing up a beautiful young girl. He had no intention of avoiding the question or finding a plausible excuse for Lei Mei’s directness. “It has some use for me.”

"Moreover, it has been wasted for far too long in Sir Callisto's hands."

More blood gushed from his ear canals, instantly flooding nearly half the carriage. The thick, foul-smelling blood plasma reached above Wu Chen's knees, bubbling slightly and releasing countless bubbles. Each bubble resembled a large, ever-opening eye.

"So you're just robbing me—"

Wu Chen stood up and hung the talisman he had woven into a necklace around Lei Mei's neck—the scarlet, twisted hundred ears and a thousand eyes disappeared in an instant, revealing the girl's slightly uneasy, confused, and even somewhat bewildered face.

"You—" Her breathing became rapid, and her heartbeat quickened—this was certainly not some nonsensical development of falling in love, but simply a stress tremor caused by a mild erosion of her body by negative energy.

"If you like it, then keep it for now." Wu Chen examined the slightly pale face, which made it even more delicate and beautiful. "Or is it that you can't handle it?"

"How can I not accept... I don't want something stolen like this!" Leimei's face flushed with excitement. She ripped off the amulet and threw it at Wu Chen's forehead.

The amulet remained suspended in mid-air.

The treasure was back in Wu Chen's hands. And the omnipresent feeling of being watched had naturally faded away without a trace.

A silent breath escaped from the depths of her hidden heart—there was still plenty of time; the banquet hadn't even begun. Therefore, she should have time to prepare.

If everything goes as planned...

Wu Chen turned his head and glanced out the window. A crimson drizzle had begun to fall on the street outside, but no one in this dreamlike Windhelm City noticed this anomaly.

A cloud of dust settled on Wu Chen's brow.

In the present world, outside the sealed-off Windhelm City, a massive army is about to officially appear on this battlefield that is about to erupt.

And the name of this army is Stormcloak.

(End of this chapter)